Rig 9 is a conventional, full view, box on box, triple drilling rig with a depth rating of 16,500 feet with 4 1/2-inch drillpipe (photo: Paul Graham Drilling and Service Company)

Empyrean, the oil and gas development company with interests in China, Indonesia and the United States, has announced that it has been informed by Sacgasco Limited, the operator of the Dempsey 1-15 well in the Sacramento Basin, onshore California, that a drilling contract has been signed with Paul Graham Drilling of Rio Vista, California. Empyrean has a 30% interest in the Well, which is targeting a 1Tcf+ prospect within an already producing gas unit. Drilling operations are on track to commence in the coming weeks.

Dempsey is a large structure mapped with 3D seismic and interpreted by Sacgasco to have the potential to hold a prospective resource of over 1 Tcf of gas in up to seven stacked target reservoirs. The Dempsey 1-15 well will be drilled by the Paul Graham Rig 9 to a planned total depth of 10,500 feet. Rig 9 is a high-capability rig with a depth rating of up to 16,500 feet.

Tom Kelly, Empyrean CEO, comments, “With the permit secured and the drilling contract signed we are excited for Dempsey 1-15 to be spud in the very near future as we look to prove up a substantial 1Tcf+ prospect. The Well is strategically located within a gas unit from which Sacgasco is already producing and selling gas and so in the case of a discovery there would be an almost immediate tie-in to a 20 mmcfgpd metre station. With this in mind, we look forward to providing further updates on Dempsey 1-15 in the coming weeks.”

Tags: Empyrean Energy, Paul Graham Drilling, Sacgasco Limited